Not A Penny For Her Troubles
by PlatinumViola
Summary: A one-shot of Percabeth, set in BoL. Annabeth had always loved to analyze, and she just couldn't help reading into Percy's words, trying her best to understand and interest him. It turns out that love is a cruel employer - not a penny for her troubles.


**Hi, everyone. Today I was thinking about how boys never fully realize how much most girls like reading into what they say and what they do. No pressure or anything, guys. :P Nevertheless, this fic is the fruit of that contemplation - and I couldn't help thinking about how Annabeth remarked on Percy being "obtuse" in the Demigod Files. I can totally see Annabeth driving herself crazy analyzing what Percy says to her. **

**Enjoy!**

Boys don't get it. At least, Percy never does. Every time he teases or laughs, or even remotely pokes fun – it makes Annabeth wish that he was flirting with her, even a little bit. The thing is, Percy doesn't realize how much of an effect he really has on her. She tries to act nonchalant about the whole darn thing – but he doesn't understand that everything she tries to make sound like nothing is really what she yearns for night and day.

For the first time ever, she _begs_ to be noticed by those watery green eyes. Ridiculous – who _needs_ love? But Annabeth knows it's really a problem when she starts praying to Aphrodite, despite her own mother being a maiden goddess. Because maybe, just maybe, what she told him in the Sea of Monsters might be a little true. She was prideful, because she didn't really have anything or anybody to be proud of – other than herself. And Percy, well, after four years of knowing him, being his best friend... it was starting to feel a little like her own victory whenever he succeeded at something. She could be proud of him when he was proud. And it was an entirely foreign feeling.

It was an attachment... and like any normal fifteen-year-old, Annabeth was starting to _really_ notice just how attractive her best friend had become. How his hair was so shiny in the sunlight, and how she loved how it curled a little at the nape of his neck. How his left eyebrow quirked up when he was teasing or nervous, how his smile lifted a little more to the right than to the left. Suddenly, the hands that were just helpful on quests and fun to hang out with were hands that she had an urge to hold between her own. And when they sat side by side, she felt just a little tempted to give in to her attraction and press closer to him.

The little tingles that ran up her arm when their shoulders brushed was driving her crazy, and she can't help but stare at his slightly chapped lips when he talked, letting herself briefly wonder how it would feel to have them pressed against any part of her – even if he would only willingly kiss her forehead.

So she analyzed him. Four hundred years later she could swear she would still be able to draw him from memory. His words became a clue, a puzzle to solve. It became a foreshadowing-inferencing game.

Did he mean this by saying this? Annabeth knew that Percy wasn't really a sucker for girls who cared greatly about their appearance. She had never cared, but lately she had caught herself staring in the mirror, wondering whether her look appeared natural, like she had rolled out of bed looking that good. She liked to keep up that facade with Percy. Saying that no, she hadn't done anything to her hair – it must've been the work of the tangles she couldn't care enough about to brush out. Saying that yeah – this outfit was something she picked in the half-dark, it probably only looks good because she's the one wearing it... no bragging or anything.

Okay, so girls are confusing as heck. But the worst thing about it is that Annabeth, like every other girl this side of universe, reads into things. It doesn't help that she already overanalyzes. So every word that streams out of Percy's mouth is stuck into her whirring gears in her head and worried, fretted over, examined, and re-examined.

Everything has four hundred and one meanings, which can be placed into two hundred and four situations, which can be acclimated in fifty three different emotional environments. So when Percy shoots her a smile at the dining pavilion during dinner and says, "Hey," as he passes her, there are a billion things to think through. With what intensity did he state the three letter word? Is there an underlying tone to his voice? Is it husky? Attracted? Repulsed? Bored to death by her boringness?

Even though Annabeth's self-esteem rockets high, she can't help but worry that Percy doesn't really like her at times. It doesn't help that she has Rachel to worry about now. And so Annabeth sighs heavily before bed, extremely confused and extremely intrigued by the male species.

Like, how is it that a single smile can _actually_ distract her from something as interesting as quadratic functions? Is there a deep, hidden message between the lines of what Percy tells her? How is it that his hands can be so attractive by themselves?

But there was one thing that was especially bothering her. Her statistics about Percy were all confusing, her data illogical, and as a daughter of Athena, it was seriously grating on her nerves. The intensity with which he holds the pen when he scribbles a note out to her varies all the time – and can't be explained. The things he says have meanings that are paradoxical at times; complete oxymorons of studies that she had made to his speech just yesterday.

Of course, the fact that Percy rarely thinks about what he says and blurts stuff out without running it through a filter... _that_ might be the thing that's screwing up her statistical graphs on his verbal consistency.

She knew it was something.

Nonetheless, when she asks him if he can spare a nickel at the convenience store on a quest, he simply shakes his head and says, "I can't afford that Annabeth."

She can't tell whether he's kidding or actually serious, but before she can run it through scientific studies on the psychology of the male mind, one thing is startlingly clear: she can't be spared a penny for her troubles.

**I'm not going to be bossy and tell you to review, but reviews are greatly appreciated. Constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks for all the story alerts/author alerts/story and author favourites! I appreciate them so much!**


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